Page 67 of Bedhead

You’re not a coward. Just say it.

With my free hand I reached up and circled my fingers around his wrist. His pulse against my thumb was strong, and I stroked it as I forced out the words I never thought I’d say again.

“I’ve never stopped loving you, H. I don’t want just one night. I want it all.”

Hudson’s lips parted, and the stunned silence that followed told me he hadn’t expected that declaration. But it was true, and I was tired of trying to pretend otherwise.

The man was stubborn, uptight, and often the most cynical person in the room, but he was also fiercely loyal and, for those lucky to be in his circle, unwaveringly loving.

And there was nothing like being loved by Hudson. I missed it. Craved it.

Everything he was—that was it for me. It had only been my pride that kept me from telling him so every day we’d been apart.

“Fuck, say something,” I said when the silence became too much to bear.

Hudson dropped his hold on my chin, taking my hand with his. “You’re being serious right now?” he said.

“No, I just thought it would be fun to lay my heart out there for you to run over a few times.” I gave him a shove. “Yes, I’m serious. Thatcanhappen sometimes. It’s rare, but it doesn’t make it any less true.”

“I know, I’m sorry, I…” He wet his lips and seemed to try to find his words. “I wasn’t expecting… I didn’t think…”

A stab of pain lanced my heart, and I looked away as I pushed myself up to a sitting position. “No, I get it. It’s a lot, but you asked, and I don’t want to lie to you.”

“No, wait.” Hudson sat up and scooted closer. He reached for my hand, pulling it into his lap. “You just shocked the hell out of me, so give me a second.”

I nodded, looking down at our hands while a thousand thoughts ran through my mind, each worse than the last. It would be rejection. Hudson was trying to find the words to let me down easy.

But then he laced our fingers, I looked up, and the expression in his eyes lit a spark of hope in my chest.

“I’m still wrapping my head around what’s happening,” he said. “I’m…”

“Scared?”

“Yeah.”

“Me too. Not in the same way you are. But putting what I’m feeling out there…it’s fucking scary.”

He squeezed my hand. “I’m glad you did.”

“Because you feel the same way, or because you can hold this over my head for the rest of our lives?”

He cocked his head as if thinking it over, but the curve of his lips gave him away. “Both.”

Without hesitation, I shot forward, tackling him onto his back, and then straddled his hips. “You’re an ass, Montgomery.”

“You already knew this about me, and somehow, you say you love me anyway.”

“Ugh. I hate when you’re right.”

Hudson bucked his hips, causing me to fall forward onto him. As he skimmed his hands over my sides, he said, “I think… I’d like to try. With you. See where this goes.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re not just saying that because I have you tackled to the bed?”

A rumble of laughter vibrated from his chest. “I think I could break free if I wanted. I’m not cuffed.”

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